I'll admit that my skin isn't horrible, it's just that I'm so tired of dealing with constant breakouts of cystic acne.  I cannot remember that last time that I had no pimples.  People kept telling me that I'd grow out of it, but being in my mid-twenties, I think that point should have come and gone by now.  About half of the pimples that I get are the painful under-the-skin cystic ones.  I look at my friends and coworkers and none of them are dealing with this, and that sucks. 

So medication after medication and doctor after doctor, I finally found a wonderful dermatologist that recommended Accutane.  She told me that based on my family history and the number of treatment options I had unsuccessfully tried, my acne could easily last into my 30's or 40's.  And there is no way I am putting up with that!  She told me that Accutane is really my only option, and so I began my treatment in April 2004.

I will try my best to keep up weekly entries.  I hope that this journal can help those of you out there thinking about giving Accutane a try.  Please remember though that making the decision to go on Accutane is not an easy one and cannot be made by reading a few online journals.  Talk to your doctor, do the research, weigh your options, and then decide.  Going on Accutane is not as simple as taking a pill once or twice a day.  It is work and you need to be serious about it.  And it doesn't always give the results that you want.

To those of you that are in the Accutane process right now, good luck and keep your spirits up!  I hope that we can all support each other by reading each others' stories and sharing our experiences.